Monogram Foods adds jobs at its Martinsville plant

A meat products manufacturer has beefed up its workforce in Southern Virginia. Memphis, Tenn.-based Monogram Foods added more than 70 jobs at its Martinsville plant last year. The new jobs were in operations and logistics, human resources and maintenance, says Jay Barrow, the company’s talent acquisition manager.

In Martinsville, Monogram Foods makes ready-to-eat products like beef and chicken jerky, pickled sausages and kippered beef snacks. The company produces its own line of products, such as O’Brien’s Meat Snacks and Sausages, and co-packs products for private-label brands. Increases in those businesses led to the latest expansion, Barrow says.

“I would say … we very much are a growth-oriented company, as can be seen with … our training and development and advancement of our team members,” Barrow says.

Although he could not give specifics on the new employees’ compensation, Barrow says the company offers competitive packages.

“We do a lot of benchmarking, a lot of compensation analytics to ensure that we’re fair and that we are also equitable within our team members and also very competitive [against industry competitors and other manufacturers in the area],” he says.

Employee benefits at Monogram Foods include medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k) retirement plans with company match, and short- term and long-term disability insurance. The company also offers employees other perks, such as compensation for perfect attendance and paid time off for volunteering, Barrow says.

Monogram Foods was established in 2004 when two businessmen purchased Circle B and King Cotton smoked meat brands from the Sara Lee Corp. Since then, the company has made a number of acquisitions, including its Martinsville facility, which it bought in 2009.

The company has in­­­vested more than $8 million in expansions and renovations at its Martinsville plant since then. The company plans to complete $1.2 million in capital improvements at the Martinsville facility this year. The plant now employs more than 350 people, Barrow says.